Aerosol hair sprays are used by millions of women and men on a daily basis as part of their personal grooming. Additionally, most beauticians, hairstylists and barbers use hair sprays on their clientele. Typically the aerosol hair spray is used to provide additional body to the hair, thereby making the hair easier to style. However in many instances the aerosol hair spray is used to apply a coloring medium, a conditioner or a medicant.
The aerosol hair spray sends a colloidal mixture of gas and tiny liquid droplets toward the hair. The gas principally functions to transport the liquid in the desired direction. The liquid droplets, on the other hand, actually are applied to the hair. The aerosol nozzle used with hair sprays is constructed to project the liquid droplets in a cone-shaped array. Furthermore the droplets must be sufficiently small and sufficiently dispersed to avoid saturating or caking on any one part of the hair.
The hair spray invariably is used in conjunction with a hairbrush. Typically the spray is applied immediately before or during the brushing of the hair. Thus, the spray alters the physical characteristics (e.g. body) of the hair while the brush works the hair into the preferred style. A very useful brush for styling hair includes a generally cylindrical core with bristles extending generally radially outwardly in all directions along the length of the core. Brushes of this shape are particularly useful to impart waves, curls or a fluffy body that might otherwise not be present. These brushes can be pulled through the hair in a direction perpendicular to the cylindrical core, and/or rotated around the axis of the core.
The styling of hair also typically includes the use of a blow dryer. The blow dryer directs a stream of warm or hot air, and thus can be used to dry the hair after a shampoo or shower. The blow dryer also performs a significant styling function, and often is used even though the hair is not wet. More particularly the blow dryer fluffs up the hair enabling it to be worked into the desired style.
For many people, the daily grooming exercise involves the sequential use of a blow dryer, a hair spray and a generally cylindrical styling brush. The particular sequence of using these tools will vary according to the specific styling effect desired. As an example, the hair may initially be dryed or fluffed up with the blow dryer and the cylindrical styling brush. The styling brush and spray may then be used simultaneously to provide the desired body and at least initial shape to the hair. The brush may then be used either along or in conjunction with the blow dryer to perform the final styling steps. The spray may then be used alone afterwards to render the particular style more permanent. In many instances the above recited sequence, or one similar to it, will be performed repeatedly on one section of hair after another until the desired overall grooming effect is achieved.
It should be emphasized that the amount and type of hair spray used is dependent upon the personal tastes of the individual, the desired hairstyle and many other variables including weather and planned activities. Thus, in certain instances a light spraying may be acceptable, whereas in others a more complete spraying of each strand of hair will be performed. Furthermore, as noted above, the hair spray is not always used merely to impart body to the hair. In many instances a spray will be used to place a conditioner or medicant on the hair, or even to dye all or parts of the hair. A proper droplet size and dispersal pattern always is essential.
The above described sequential use of blow dryers, sprays and hairbrushes requires an unusual degree of dexterity. The person carrying out the daily grooming exercise will repeatedly be picking up or laying down the blow dryer and the hair spray. The dryer or hair spray canister may be placed on a sink, a dressing table or between the user's legs during these brief periods of disuse. For the beautician, hairstylist or barber, this is a particularly bothersome exercise, since it occupies a large part of the day for these individuals.
Attempts have been made to combine a spray applicator into a brush to minimize the number of tools that must be worked with, or to facilitate a more complete application of material. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,998,822, which issued to Birch et al shows a brush or comb having an aerosol spray can mounted within a substantially enclosed handle structure. More particularly, the brush of U.S. Pat. No. 2,998,822 includes a handle having a hollow chamber that can be opened to receive an aerosol cartridge. A duct is incorporated into the brush, and extends from the chamber to the portion of the brush having the bristles. The end of the handle opposite the bristles includes a button which extends into the chamber. A pressure exerted on the button will cause the cartridge to move within the chamber. A sufficient movement of the cartridge will trigger a release of the material into the duct, thereby enabling a flow of materials through the area of the brush from which the bristles extend. The brush of U.S. Pat. No. 2,998,822 includes several defficiencies. For example, the hollow handle is costly to manufacture and can receive only a single size cartridge. Additionally, the duct construction is even more costly, is subject to failure and will achieve an undesired application pattern. Specifically, the narrow duct which is integral to the brush body is costly to manufacture and can easily be blocked by material being sprayed from the cartridge. A blockage of this narrow duct will render the entire costly assembly useless. Furthermore, the construction of the duct enables only a narrow stream of material to be emitted from the brush shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,998,822. This flow pattern is entirely inconsistent with the wide broadcasting of spray material that is essential to proper hairstyling. Finally, the positioning of the activator button in U.S. Pat. No. 2,988,822 makes activation of the spray extremely cumbersome for either an individual doing their own hair or a hairstylist working on someone else. Specifically, the bristles part of the brush invariably is held toward the thumb side of the hand. Consequently the activator button would be adjacent the outside portion of the hand making activation of the assembly extremely difficult.
Another brush applicator is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,973,853 which issued to Myers. The structure shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,973,853 is a complex arrangement of brackets, spring-actuated levers, ducts and an array of nuts and bolts. The brush of U.S. Pat. No. 3,973,853 includes a brush portion and a handle portion. Brackets adapted to receive an aerosol spray can are disposed on the side of the brush portion opposite the bristles. A complex arrangement of brackets extends over the aerosol spray nozzle and connects to a lever disposed adjacent the handle of the brush. A duct then extends from the aerosol spray nozzle and through the array of bristles. The duct includes a plurality of apertures for dispensing material from the spray can. The structure shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,973,853 would make mounting and removal of the can extremely difficult to accomplish. Furthermore, the complex arrangement of levers and brackets would invariably become snarled in the hair, making use of this apparatus a painful experience. Additionally, the positioning of the activator handle would make it difficult to properly use the brush in a nonspraying mode. Similarly, the required positioning of the aerosol can with respect to the bristles would make this structure impossible to use with the preferred generally cylindrical styling brush. Finally, the arrangement of the apertured duct would not provide the desired spray pattern for use in hair grooming applications.
Several structures have been developed to enable the dispensing of shaving cream or toothpaste from an aerosol can and through a brush member. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,609,050 shows a clamp member that can be affixed to an aerosol can of shaving cream. A brush also is mounted to the clamp and aligned to the stream of shaving cream. Thus the shaving cream will flow through the brush and onto the individual. Similar structures are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,363,968 which issued to Williams, U.S. Pat. No. 3,653,090 which issued to Weaver and U.S. Pat. No. 4,252,455 which issued to de la Pena. A comparable structure for use with toothpaste and a toothbrush is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,612,706 which issued to Verga. In this structure, a toothbrush assembly is threadably attached to an aerosol canister. The aerosol canister is activated by bending the nozzle away from its initial axial alignment. A duct within the toothbrush assembly telescopingly engages the nozzle of the aerosol canister. Toothpaste can be urged through the duct and up into the area of the bristles. A similar structure for use with toothpaste and toothbrushes is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,868,188.
The flow characteristics and desired application patterns of shaving cream and toothpaste differ from the flow characteristics and application pattern for hair spray. Consequently the above cited references do not suggest a structure that could conveniently and properly be used to apply hair spray, particularly with the preferred styling brush.
An apparatus for applying upholstery shampoo from an aerosol can is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,184,781. The applicator of U.S. Pat. No. 3,184,781 is mounted on the top of an aerosol can. The applicator includes an activator button and an applicator sponge surrounded by bristles. By depressing the activator button the shampoo can be urged through an array of ducts and into the general area of the sponge. The sponge absorbs the shampoo and enables application of the shampoo onto the upholstery. Appropriate movement of the entire aerosol can and applicator enables a proper working of the shampoo into the upholstery. As described previously, the flow characteristics of shampoo into upholstery are entirely different from the desired flow characteristics of an aerosol hair spray. Consequently the applicator shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,184,781 is of little help in suggesting a structure which conveniently can combine a brush assembly and an aerosol spray can for grooming hair.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,738 which issued to Stanley shows a pump spray applicator for applying a liquid to a pet. The structure shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,738 includes a brush portion and a case into which a pump spray bottle is received. The pump actuator extends through the structure enabling a pumping of liquid from the bottle into the brush area of the applicator.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,544,226 which issued to Kellis, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,827 which issued to Fuhs show structures for holding a liquid and applying that liquid through a brush.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,856,027 which issued to Legere shows a composite structure for holding both an aerosol spray and a comb. The spray and the comb do not act in cooperation with one another.
In view of the above it is an object of the subject invention to provide an aerosol spray and brush assembly to facilitate an efficient application of a hair spray.
It is another object of the subject invention to provide a combination aerosol spray and brush assembly that can be activated easily for applying a spray either to the hair of the individual holding the apparatus or to the hair of another.
It is an additional object of the subject invention to provide a combination aerosol spray and hairbrush that can be activated in more than one way.
It is a further object of the subject invention to provide a combination aerosol spray and hairbrush that will provide an optimal spray pattern.
It is still another object of the subject invention to provide a combination aerosol spray and hairbrush that can be easily altered to achieve different spray patterns.
It is still a further object of the subject invention to provide an aerosol spray can and hairbrush that is not subject to clogging.
It is still an additional object of the subject invention to provide an aerosol spray can and hairbrush assembly that can easily be assembled.
It is yet another object of the subject invention to provide an aerosol spray and hairbrush assembly wherein the brush is a generally cylindrical brush well adapted to styling hair.